


You Don't Have To Say Nothing

by livin_la_vida_fandom



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/F, First Relationship, Fluff, Supportive Rose, and all the scares that come with it, i don't trust luka when he says he is, i'm not really sorry actually, juleka deserves all the cuddles and love, juleka stole your spotlight luka sorry, luka and their mom are mentioned, rose will willingly give them, the couffaines are simply bad with words, this was written based on the prompt vocal for the lukanette february ups, understanding rose, well one couffaine is, with a dash of juleka panicking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-24
Updated: 2020-02-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:01:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22881433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/livin_la_vida_fandom/pseuds/livin_la_vida_fandom
Summary: Rose was very vocal. Juleka was not. Juleka thought that would be a big problem in their relationship.She underestimated her girlfriend.
Relationships: Anarka Couffaine & Juleka Couffaine & Luka Couffaine, Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant
Comments: 7
Kudos: 46





	You Don't Have To Say Nothing

**Author's Note:**

> As I said in the tags, this was based on the prompt vocal from lukanette february's prompts, but when I got to thinking about it, a whole other ship entered my mind, and so this little julerose fic happened. I hope you'll like it even though it's short, and I'm sorry if they're a bit out of character, the canon and I aren't very cooperative, I watched like every fourth episode or so. Oops.
> 
> Anyway, onto the story, hope you'll enjoy it!

Juleka had a problem.

A big, potentially devastating problem.

That problem was – she couldn’t for the love of her say those three words out loud.

Juleka had never, _ever_ in her entire life told anyone _“I love you”_ out loud.

That didn’t use to be a big deal – her mom and her brother knew that she loved them without her ever needing to say that. Other than them, she didn’t feel the need to let other people in her life know how she felt about them. Most of the others in her life were a passing existence –her family was a constant. And they knew Juleka loved them wholeheartedly. They knew it in the way she’d let her mom ruffle her freshly combed hair, or squeeze her cheeks while calling her _“ma sweet little faire o’ darkness”_ ; they knew in the way she was most comfortable hugging Luka and he was the one she confided in the most. They knew, in the end, because they were a close-knit family, and there was no need for words between them – they all understood each other without the need to voice their thoughts.

But the thing was, she had a girlfriend now. Which, in of itself, was _far_ from a problem and Juleka couldn’t believe her luck when someone as sweet and cheerful and kind and beautiful as Rose agreed to be _her_ girlfriend, of all people. Juleka had been in love with her best friend for a very long time, but she had been too afraid to do anything about it; finally, Luka couldn’t just stand by and watch her pine after a girl that so _clearly_ returned her feelings – he should know, he was still waiting for that to happen to him. So, with the help of Ivan, Mylene, Marinette, a few of his friends, and even _their mother_ , he managed to create a _perfectly_ romantic situation - just the way Rose liked it. Juleka felt like she was Prince Erik, Rose Ariel, and her nosy friends ( _and her mother!_ ) were the choir of sea creatures singing _“The ~~boy~~ girl too shy ain’t gonna kiss the girl”_. So she proved them all wrong. Not before asking for Rose’s permission, of course. Which she was rewarded for with the brightest look in Rose’s eyes, cheeks so adorably pink, and a smile that, even though small, managed to pierce Juleka’s heart better than any knife or sword could.

So yeah, her best friend became her girlfriend, and Juleka became the happiest girl in the world.

But then _the problem_ appeared.

Because Rose was a _very_ vocal person.

And Juleka _was not_.

So they would go out on a date, eat some ice cream, Rose would be all adorable and end up with some of it on her nose, and Juleka would wipe it off, and Rose would look at her all happy and cute, and say, _‘I love you’_.

Juleka would promptly freeze.

Rose would just snuggle closer to her and close her eyes, letting Juleka know that it was okay, that she didn’t have to say it back, but Juleka still couldn’t get rid of the nagging in her head.

Or they would just be hanging out in each other’s rooms, hands intertwined, sometimes talking, sometimes Rose would sing, and Juleka would get lost in the feeling of sheer bliss and utter happiness, and then Rose would turn around to face her, look at her with those beautiful blue eyes of hers, and say, _‘I love you’_.

Juleka’s stomach would immediately drop.

Rose would simply close her eyes and, with a satisfied smile, continue doing whatever she was doing before dropping the l-bomb.

After a few more similar incidents, Juleka started getting very worried. She had never once replied to Rose’s _‘I love you’_ with an _‘I love you too’_ , not even a _‘me too’_ , and she was getting scared that Rose would misunderstand her and think Juleka didn’t love her, and then Rose would leave her and Juleka was sure she’d spend at least a year buried under all of the blankets The Liberty possessed, ignoring both her brother’s worried inquiries and her mother’s tough love attempts to shake her out of her misery.

Juleka decided to make sure that never happened.

Instead of going to her brother for advice, though, Juleka decided that this time she would solve her problems by herself – she couldn’t expect Luka to fix her mistakes all the time. So no matter how grateful she was for her brother’s unconditional support and willingness to put aside pretty much _everything_ to help her, and no matter how much she _loved him_ for it, this time, Juleka would fend for herself.

She could do it.

She believed in herself.

Juleka called Rose to ask her if they could hang out at Rose’s (because Juleka was sharing a room with her brother, and she did _not_ want _any_ interruptions during that _very_ important conversation), and she got a cheery answer _‘of course we could, I can’t wait to see you, love you!’_. Juleka fought off the shiver that ran down her spine every time Rose would say those words – she wasn’t even sure anymore if she was shivering out of delight or fear.

It was probably both.

Several hours later, they were both sitting on Rose’s bed, facing each other, serious expressions on their faces, because Juleka went and said _‘we need to talk’_ and promptly scared the sh- scared the daylights out of Rose. It’s been too many minutes since either of them said anything, Juleka was picking at her fingernails, and Rose was looking at her with a sad expression on her face.

“Juleka”, Rose finally broke the silence, voice quiet and sad, “did I do something wrong?”. Juleka snapped her head up, shaking it violently from side to side, eyes wide, cursing herself for making Rose feel that way.

“God, _no_ , no Rose, you didn’t do _anything_ wrong, _I am_ the one- I mean, I am the one with the problem”, Juleka started, feeling herself slowly slip into a state of panic, until Rose’s hand, small but strong, gripped her own and forced Juleka to look up to her.

“Juleka, breathe”, Rose said, and, without taking her eyes off of Rose, Juleka slowly breathed in and out, calmed by the thumb gently stroking her skin where Rose’s hand was still holding her, now more gently, and eventually, she managed to calm herself down enough to take the hand Rose was using to bring her back from her state of panic, and hold it in her own.

“Thanks”, Juleka mumbled, and Rose smiled at her, leaned forward to kiss her forehead and whispered, _‘anytime’_.

When Juleka’s breathing evened out completely, she finally found the courage to tell this wonderful, beautiful girl in front of her what’s been weighing on her mind ever since the first time she heard the words ‘ _I love you’_ escape her sweet little mouth.

“I’m bad with words”, Juleka started, and Rose couldn’t help herself – she broke into a small fit of giggles, tightening her hold on her girlfriend’s hand to reassure her that she wasn’t trying to make fun of her.

“I know”, she said with a soft, encouraging smile, and Juleka understood this as a sign to continue saying what she wanted, but without any rush.

She really loved this girl.

“Okay. Okay. Well, the- the thing is, I mean, what I’m trying to say…”, Juleka huffed, unable to find the right words. Rose patiently waited for her to continue, never looking away.

“You’re very vocal”, Juleka finally blurted out, and Rose blinked slightly in confusion, but then smiled widely.

“I very much am, yup.”

“And I’m not.”

“That is also quite true.”

“So I guess what I’m trying to say is… well… You can easily say the things you think and… _feel_. And I- I’d really like to be able to be the same, but- but I’m not and- Well, I’m scared that you might… not know… how I feel about you. How much you mean to me. Because I can’t say it”, Juleka said, feeling slightly better, but it was only after she had raised her head and looked at Rose that she felt all of her worries leave her. The look on Rose’s face told her she understood everything. She already knew everything.

“I know, Jules”, Rose confirmed her thoughts, taking Juleka’s other hand into hers and squeezing both of them. “I know you don’t really like saying what you feel. But I know how you feel nevertheless. Because, you may not say it with words, but you say it with every other thing you do.”

Rose pulled Juleka closer to her and leaned Juleka’s head on her shoulder, leaning her head atop of Juleka’s.

“You say it with the little things you do for me, and the way you smile at me when I’m all excited. You say it in the way that my energetic behavior never once tired you out enough to leave me. You say it in the way you touch me, gently and cautiously, like I’m the most precious creature in the existence.” Rose pulled Juleka’s head up so she could look into her eyes. “You say it in the way you look at me”, Rose smiled, gazing at her girlfriend’s beautiful brown eyes. “I don’t need you to tell me that you love me _out loud_ , Juleka, because you say it in every other way imaginable.”

Juleka smiled, a soft, shy smile full of love Rose knew was reserved only for her (and that made her feel like she might be a little more possessive than anyone would guess).

“I don’t want you to feel like you’re _forced_ to say it back just because I say it all the time. I do that because that’s the kind of person _I am_ , and I like saying it to you, but don’t you ever, _ever_ feel like you have to say it too. Because I _know_ we both feel the same. We just show it in different ways.”

Juleka took in the adoring look on Rose’s face and leaned in to kiss her. Rose returned the kiss happily, and then they pulled away from each other – Rose started giggling, which prompted Juleka to start giggling too, and soon they were laughing in Rose’s bed, hands around each other, and Juleka’s heart felt lighter than it ever did before.

Rose understood. Rose knew how Juleka felt.

Thinking how it made her incredibly happy to add Rose to the (very short) list of people she didn't have to tell her feelings to for them to come across, Juleka snuggled closer to Rose, who was now carding her fingers through Juleka’s hair. After a while, they both fell into a peaceful nap from which they were awoken by the sound of a shutter and Rose's mother's barely stifled giggling.

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from Harry Styles' Adore You.
> 
> (If you've read my other stories - especially from the lukanette collection - you've probably noticed my obsession with naming my fics after song lyrics, or adding songs in the notes to be listened to. Can't help it. Love music.)
> 
> Again, I hope you've enjoyed the story! 😁


End file.
